Like Father, Like Son
by LuckyDuck29
Summary: Second in the Speculations series, and my first attempt to write a fic that is not centered around Spinelli. When Lucky catches Nikolas and Elizabeth in the act, his reaction horrifies everyone around him, including himself.


What would you do if you found out that someone you loved had committed the ultimate betrayal? How would your reaction affect others around you?

Lucky stood in the doorway, too stunned to move or speak. His fiancé and his brother? This couldn't be happening! How could they do this to him?

She looked over then, and the look on her face was what made it real for him.

"Lucky, oh my God!"

Nikolas took his face out of her hair and his face assumed the same expression of shock and guilt as Elizabeth's. They broke apart and quickly began to sort out their clothes.

"Don't stop on my account," Lucky said bitterly.

Somehow when they'd discovered him, his paralysis had broken. Now he was perfectly capable of speech and movement. His first act was to punch Nikolas in the face. He was across the room almost before he knew what he was going to do and his fist was connecting with his brother's jaw with a satisfying thud.

"Lucky!" Elizabeth screamed.

He glared at her for a second, but left quickly. When he'd been addicted to pain killers he had knocked her down. He was not someone who deliberately abused women, but he was so angry now that he couldn't trust himself. He had to get out of there before he hurt her again.

A few hours later, very drunk and as angry as ever, he stepped out of Jake's and went to the peer. He had wisely given Coleman his keys before his first drink, knowing he wouldn't stop until he was good and drunk. He'd been hoping he'd get so drunk that he would forget ever seeing his fiancé and his brother having sex on his brother's couch. No such luck.

He stopped on the peer, feeling nauseous, and not just because of the unusual amount of alcohol he'd consumed. He leaned over the side and fought with his stomach. He lost the battle.

"Lucky?" a concerned female voice asked quietly.

He looked up, wiping his mouth.

"Are you OK?"

Maxie stood behind him. He turned to face her.

"No," he said miserably.

"What happened?"

He laughed bitterly.

"You and I happened, and then Elizabeth and Jason happened, and now-"

He broke off. He couldn't bring himself to admit it out loud.

"What?" she asked, putting a comforting hand on his shoulder.

He looked at her thoughtfully, as thoughtfully as he could with a brain clogged by alcohol, shock and anger. Something in his face must have set alarm bells off in her head because she backed off slightly and took her hand away from his shoulder.

"Do you ever wonder what would have happened if we'd stayed together? What if we'd gotten together under different circumstances? What if you hadn't faked a pregnancy, but had really been pregnant? What if I hadn't been addicted to pain killers and we just- happened?"

"A lot of things would have been different," she said cautiously. "But it doesn't matter now, Lucky. We both made mistakes and it's all in the past now."

"Is it?"

She nodded.

He was silent for a moment, contemplating tonight's events and the events that had led up to Elizabeth sleeping with Jason.

He had told her countless times that what had happened with Jason was in the past and that he'd forgiven her. She had claimed to forgive him for sleeping with Maxie. It had all been a lie; he could see that now. He had needed a brick to fall on his head, but he was clued in now. All it had taken was for him to walk in on her and Nikolas for him to realize what he knew now.

"You're all alike, aren't you?" he asked in a menacing tone that scared Maxie and made her back further away.

"Who?"

"Women."

"Well, most of you men are pretty much alike, too."

She knew it was the wrong thing to say, but he was making her nervous; he was scaring her, and her snarky attitude had taken over in an effort to mask her fear.

"Maybe," he conceded. "But at least I don't make the same choices over and over again. I don't go from one girl to another, betraying the woman I claim to love!"

"Something happened with Elizabeth."

"Yah think?"

"Lucky-"

"What gives you the right!" he screamed. "What gives you women the right to treat men like dirt and think you can get away with it!"

He advanced on her and she could smell the alcohol fumes. She wasn't just scared now; she was terrified.

"Lucky, don't, please!"

"Shut up! If you women think you can take whatever you want without consequences, why shouldn't I?"

His vision was filled with the hurt on Elizabeth's face when she found out what he'd done, and he would make sure she did find out once it was over. He was going to get back at her by sleeping with Maxie again. Maxie would cooperate; he had no doubt about that. After all, she'd been cooperative enough before.

"Just relax," he said roughly. "I'll make sure you enjoy it."

"I'll have you arrested!" she cried shrilly.

Lucky snorted a contemptuous laugh.

"Who would believe you? It's not like you never prostituted yourself with me before. Remember the pills?"

"No!" she screamed as he grabbed her by the hair with one hand and tried to undo her dress with the other. "Stop! Lucky, stop!"

"Let her go!" two voices yelled simultaneously.

One was angry and gruff; the other was high-pitched with anxiety, almost boyish, but even angrier than the first.

Lucky and Maxie looked over, Lucky with contempt and Maxie with enormous relief, taking advantage of Lucky's distraction and pulling away from him. Mike and Spinelli had come running out of Kelly's when they'd heard her screams.

"Well, look who's here," Lucky said, sneering at Spinelli. "Maxie's newest knight in shining armor."

"Oh thank God!" she cried, running to Spinelli and throwing her arms around him.

He held her tightly and turned her away from Lucky.

"You really think you're capable of protecting her?" Lucky asked.

"What's wrong with you?" Mike asked.

Lucky ignored him.

"You really think you can make her happy? I hate to break it to you, Spinelli, but The Jackal will never be man enough for someone like Maxie."

"Shut up!" Maxie screamed at him. "Spinelli's more of a man than you'll ever be! He knows how to treat a woman with respect!"

Lucky laughed.

"I could lay him out with one love tap!"

"Nobody's gonna lay anybody out," Mike said firmly. "Go home, Lucky, before I call the cops. Spinelli and I both saw you trying to rip Maxie's dress off; we could have you arrested for attempted rape."

That word broke through the haze of alcohol and fury.

"Rape?"

He stared at Maxie, who snuggled deeper into Spinelli's arms.

"Oh my God! What did I almost- I'm so sorry! I-"

"Leave me alone!" she screamed at him. "Don't you ever touch me again!"

She buried her face in Spinelli's shoulder, starting to cry and shake. Lucky watched him stroke her hair for a few seconds. He was whispering to her, but Lucky couldn't hear what he was saying.

He couldn't believe what he'd almost done. His father had raped his mother years ago and he'd almost raped Maxie tonight. The thought made him feel sick all over again.

"I'm sorry," he said softly, then ran in the direction of his house.

"Did he hurt you?" Spinelli asked.

"No," she said, her voice still muffled by his shoulder, "but he would have if you and Mike hadn't come. He's drunk and he's so angry. God, Spinelli, I've never seen him so-"

Her voice rose in pitch as she cried harder.

"You're safe now," he said gently. "It's OK."

"Why don't you bring her in," Mike asked Spinelli, "and we'll give her something to calm her down?"

Spinelli nodded gratefully and turned toward him with Maxie still in his arms. They followed Mike into the diner, which was, fortunately, mostly empty. No one they knew was there at the moment.

"He did hurt you; I can see it. Tell me, Maximista, what did he do to you besides what Senior Sir and I saw?"

"It wasn't what he did before that; it was the things he said. He was talking about how women could just take what we want and get away with it and he was gonna do the same thing. He said-"

Her voice broke and she looked away from him. They were sitting in a booth and he still had one arm around her.

"Maximista," he said gently.

She forced herself to look back at him. Most of her knew he wouldn't agree with what Lucky had said, but the part of her that knew she would never be good enough for Spinelli could imagine him looking at her with contempt and leaving her sitting here alone, realizing that Lucky was right and wanting nothing more to do with her.

"Please, let me help you. What did he say?"

She sobbed and rested her head against his shoulder.

"It's OK. It's over. He's gone and I'm not gonna let him hurt you again."

"He said no one would believe me if I tried to have him arrested because I'd already made a prostitute of myself before when I was getting the pills for him."

He let out his breath in an angry sigh that was also filled with pain for Maxie. Why was it that Lucky had been forgiven and that everyone acted as if Maxie were solely responsible for their affair? Lucky had been addicted to pain killers, through no fault of his own. They had been prescribed when he'd broken his back. He had not been in his right mind at the time, but that didn't make him blameless.

"I'm sorry," he said quietly. "It must have been horrible for you to hear such a cruel and unfair accusation."

"But it was true. I gave him pills in exchange for sex."

"You were both hurting at the time, but Lucky is equally responsible. You had an agreement and Lucky accepted the pills."

"Why are you so wonderful to me?"

"That is another agreement where both parties are equally responsible," he said, giving her a gentle smile. "Maximista is equally wonderful to The Jackal."

She smiled weakly and wiped the last of her tears as Mike brought her a cup of tea.

"You OK?" Mike asked her."

She nodded.

"I can't believe Lucky did that," he said.

"He was drunk and angry. It's pretty obvious from the way he was talking that something went wrong with Elizabeth."

"That's no excuse for what he did to you," Spinelli said angrily.

"He's right," Mike said. "I didn't say anything before because I wanted to get you out of Lucky's orbit before he could try anything else, but are you gonna tell the police?"

"I don't know. Part of me wants to see my dad arrest him, but I'm afraid he might do something really stupid and lose his job, or get himself thrown in jail for murdering Lucky. I mean, you've seen him, Spinelli; just because we're together he acts like you're some horrible monster bent on taking his daughter away from him. Besides, Lucky was right. I have a reputation and we have a history."

"Maximista," Spinelli began.

"We have to think about Lulu, too. She's our friend and Lucky's her brother."

"What if he hurts someone else?"

"I don't think he will," Mike said. "Did you see his face when I mentioned rape? He felt awful. I think he'll just go home and sleep it off."

Spinelli didn't look convinced.

"I know you wanna protect me," Maxie told him, "but if I go to my dad with what happened tonight and it goes to court I'll be dragged through the mud. I can't do that; I can't handle it."

"Maximista, please, don't let him shame you into silence!"

"I'm not just trying to protect myself. Lulu's his sister. I've made mistakes and Lucky almost made one tonight-"

"He did make one tonight," Mike said.

"My point is that he didn't rape me; you and Spinelli stopped him."

"What if we hadn't heard you?" Spinelli asked. "What if it had happened somewhere else, or if no one had been here? How do we know he would have stopped? Maxie, your life could have been horribly, irrevocably altered tonight."

"You need to protect the woman you love; I understand that, but I need to protect Lulu and my dad. Please, I'm asking you to respect my decision."

Spinelli and Mike exchanged a look. Mike nodded and Spinelli sighed.

"I respect and support you. I hate that Lucky's gonna get away with channeling The Crabby Commando, but your peace of mind is more important to me than my sense of moral outrage."

She gave a small laugh and kissed him.

"Thank you."

But as he drove her home, he couldn't help wondering if they'd made the right decision. He didn't voice his concerns to Maxie again, but he worried that they'd all made a potentially tragic mistake tonight.

Lucky woke the next morning with the worst hangover of his life. It took a while, but finally the memories of last night became clear and he was horrified all over again. He had almost committed rape! Maxie had expressed concern for him and he had repaid her kindness with brutality and insults. He had thrown their history in her face. He still blamed her more than himself for what had happened between them, but he knew that some of the blame was his.

He put on a pot of strong coffee and went to take a shower. As he was drying his hair, there was a knock at the door. He put the towel over his head, leaving his eyes uncovered, glad that he was already dressed and didn't have to scramble for his clothes before he went to the door.

"Hey, Cowboy," Luke said.

Lucky nodded, which was a mistake, since it set off the throbbing in his head again. The shower had helped a little, but not nearly enough.

"Hangover?" Luke asked unsympathetically.

"So what made you get drunk?"

"Oh, I don't know, Dad; I would say that's a pretty natural reaction when you walk into your brother's living room and find him on the couch having sex with the woman you're supposed to spend the rest of your life with!"

Luke didn't look surprised.

"You knew?"

"I knew something was going on, but-"

"And you didn't tell me?"

"It wasn't my place to tell you."

"But that's not where it ended last night; something else happened. You know how you want me to be more like you? Well, I almost was; I almost raped someone!"

Luke looked shocked.

"Elizabeth?"

"No, Maxie Jones. If Mike and Spinelli hadn't come running out of Kelly's when they heard her screaming for me to stop-"

He couldn't finish; the prospect was too awful.

"She saw me throw up and she was worried about me. I took out my anger at Elizabeth on her. Wasn't that your excuse for raping Mom, that you were angry and drunk? Congratulations, Dad; Ethan's not the only chip off the old block!"

"Lucky," Luke began.

"Get out!"

Luke hesitated.

"Get out!" Lucky yelled, throwing his wet towel at Luke's head.

Luke turned sadly and left without another word, closing the door quietly behind him. He hated that Lucky was a cop, but he loved Lucky himself. No matter what he said or did, he couldn't make Lucky see that. He had a sinking feeling that last night's events had driven an even bigger wedge between them.

Lucky was glad it was Spinelli who answered the door half an hour later. He didn't want to deal with Jason at the moment and he was hoping Maxie and Spinelli would be together. He vaguely remembered threatening Spinelli when he'd tried to protect Maxie. The details were fuzzy, but he supposed he owed Spinelli an apology, too. No, he didn't just suppose; he knew. Spinelli may be different, but that didn't make him a bad person, and he had been trying to protect Maxie.

Lucky was so surprised by Spinelli's icy, furious glare that he almost took a step back.

"What are you doing here?"

"I came to apologize. I'm not exactly sure what I said or did to you last night, but-"

"Forget about me; you owe Maxie an apology!"

"I was hoping she was with you; I owe her the biggest apology of all."

"Well, at least you remember that much and you're man enough to admit it."

Lucky wanted to be annoyed, but he couldn't. What he'd almost done last night was unforgivable. Spinelli had every right to be angry. Maxie was his girlfriend, after all, even if Lucky didn't understand why or how they'd ended up together. They were total opposites. Logically, they just didn't make sense.

"I'm really sorry."

"You shamed her last night! It wasn't bad enough that you almost-"

He couldn't finish the thought. It caused him physical pain to imagine what could have happened to his Maximista last night if he and Senior Sir had not intervened.

"But you made sure she would never tell anyone. You threw your affair in her face and told her no one would believe her."

Lucky looked away. So he had actually done that.

"Don't worry; it worked. Your secret is safe. Maximista has asked us not to say anything and against our better judgment, Senior Sir and The Jackal have acceded to her wishes."

That didn't make Lucky feel any better, although Spinelli seemed to expect that it would.

"I'm not a monster, Spinelli."

"That, Detective, is a matter of opinion."

"Look, I had just had a fight with Elizabeth and-"

"I don't care why you did it! Maxie did not deserve that; no one does!"

Lucky sighed. Spinelli was right; there was no excuse for last night's behavior.

"I apologize to you, and I will apologize to Maxie as soon as I see her."

"Leave her alone!"

"Spinelli-"

"I mean it! If I ever see you within grabbing distance of her again I will have Stone Cold introduce you to the fish residing in the harbor!"

"What's going on?" Jason asked from behind Lucky, having just returned home.

Spinelli hadn't invited Lucky in, so they'd been standing in the doorway.

Lucky and Spinelli stared at him in surprise.

"What's going on?" Jason asked again, more insistently.

"Spinelli and I had a little run-in last night," Lucky said. "I said a few things to Maxie that he didn't like. I came to apologize, but he's still mad. I can't blame him; I was pretty mean."

Lucky didn't think Spinelli, Maxie or Mike would believe it after the way he'd behaved last night, and he couldn't blame them, but he really wasn't trying to cover up his actions; he was trying to respect Maxie's wish not to have their encounter last night made public.

"A little run-in," Jason said skeptically. "That's why Spinelli's threatening to have me kill you?"

"Well, you know Spinelli; he tends to over react and exaggerate."

Jason studied Spinelli's face carefully.

"Well, I'm leaving. Again, Spinelli, I'm sorry."

He waited a beat, but when Spinelli said nothing and continued to glare, Lucky turned, excused himself to Jason, who moved out of his way, then left the Penthouse.

"What really happened?" Jason asked when they were alone. "You don't get that angry just because somebody says something you don't like."

"I can't tell you."

Jason could tell that Spinelli wanted to tell him.

"I promised Maximista."

"Did Lucky hurt her?"

"Not physically."

"What are you not telling me?"

"I promised Maximista I wouldn't say anything. I wanna tell you, but I must not betray my love's confidence."

Jason gave him a stern, impatient look. He wanted an answer; he had a feeling this was serious and wanted to protect Spinelli and Maxie, and he wondered if Lucky's behavior could somehow affect Jake and Elizabeth.

"It was not nearly as bad as it could have been," Spinelli said nervously. "Lucky was drunk and attempting to employ Crabby Commando tactics to get what he wanted. Maximista refused and with the help of The Jackal and The Senior Sir, Lucky was sent home and Maximista was shaken, but unharmed."

"Then why are you still mad at him?"

"Because he forgets that he is equally responsible for what happened between him and Maximista; he's forgiven and Maxie is still judged for their affair."

"Was that what it was about? Was he blaming Maxie for sleeping with him for pills?"

"Yeah."

"Why would he bring that up now?"

"He'd been drinking heavily."

"Do you know why?"

"Maximista seems to think he's having trouble with The Maternal One."

Jason had seen Nikolas and Elizabeth together the night of the carnival. Maybe it had something to do with that. Jason wondered if he needed to worry about Jake. He decided to talk to Elizabeth later that day and try to find out what had really happened. Out of respect for Maxie, Spinelli was keeping something from him. Out of respect for Spinelli, Jason wouldn't press him.

Maxie's eyes widened when she saw Lucky step out of the elevator and into the Crimson office. She was alone. Lulu had gone for Kate's coffee and Kate hadn't arrived yet.

"What are you doing here?"

She wished her voice didn't broadcast her fear.

"I came to apologize. Maxie, I am so sorry about last night."

"Yeah, well, you should be!"

"I don't know what happened."

"I know exactly what happened. You were drunk and you tried to rape me! If Spinelli and Mike hadn't been there-"

She swallowed hard.

"Don't worry; I'm not gonna say anything. I care about Mack and Lulu and I don't want Mack killing you and losing his job and I don't want Lulu to know her brother is as big a pig as Logan Hayes!"

"I'm not," Lucky pleaded.

He hated the idea that anyone would compare him to Logan. That pig had terrorized his sister and Maxie.

"Do you still not remember what you almost did to me last night?"

"I do, and I've already apologized to Spinelli. I was actually-"

"Stay away from Spinelli and stay away from me!"

Lucky sighed.

"I was mortified last night when I realized what I'd almost done."

"Good."

"I didn't mean to rape you."

"What?" Lulu asked from the doorway.

She rushed in and put Kate's coffee down before she could spill it.

"He didn't rape me," Maxie said quickly.

"Did you two sleep together again?" Lulu demanded angrily.

"No," Lucky and Maxie said quickly together.

"Then what is going on? What do you mean, you didn't mean to rape her?"

"I'm more like Dad than I thought," he said sadly.

"What is that supposed to mean?"

"Can we go somewhere and talk?"

Lulu hesitated.

"I'll cover for you," Maxie said.

Part of her reason was unselfish; she wanted Lulu's questions to be answered. Since Lulu had overheard Lucky admit what he'd almost done, there was no protecting her now. She also wanted to call Spinelli and tell him Lulu knew, and she wanted Lucky away from her.

They went to the Metro Court Restaurant. It wasn't very busy at the moment; they were between breakfast and lunch.

"I had a really big fight with Elizabeth last night and got drunk. Maxie saw me throwing up on the peer and wanted to know if I was OK. I took my anger out on her and almost- I almost- I grabbed her by the hair, tried to undo her dress- I almost raped her, Lulu. If Mike and Spinelli hadn't heard her screaming and run out of Kelly's, who knows what I would have done?"

Lulu stared at him in shock.

"What could you and Elizabeth possibly have to fight about that would make you drunk enough to do that?"

"I found her having sex with Nikolas on his couch."

"What?"

He nodded.

Lulu didn't know what to think. Lucky had no right to try to hurt Maxie. Elizabeth And Nikolas had no right to betray Lucky. She blamed Lucky for getting drunk and trying to hurt Maxie, but Nikolas and Elizabeth were the reason he'd gotten drunk in the first place. She was so angry she couldn't even think.

Later, Lulu went to the hospital to see Elizabeth. She was on her lunch break, but what she had to say wouldn't take long.

But when she saw Elizabeth and Nikolas talking together, she forgot all about her promise to herself to stay calm. She ran up to them and slapped Elizabeth as hard as she could.

"Lulu!" Nikolas yelled angrily.

"Shut up and be happy I don't do the same to you!" Lulu screamed. "How could you betray Lucky! He told me what he saw and he told me what you made him do!"

"What do you mean?" Nikolas asked. "What did we make him do?"

"Maxie was almost raped last night because he got so drunk he didn't even know what he was doing! You've turned Lucky into my Dad!"

Elizabeth looked shocked and Lulu wanted to slap her again.

Jason stayed back, listening intently and making sure not to be seen. So that explained the extent of Spinelli's anger with Lucky. Jason thought the kid had shown great restraint; if it had been him and the woman he loved, Lucky would not be breathing now.

"Lucky would never- Maxie must have-"

"Mike and Spinelli heard her screaming for help and ran out onto the peer. Lucky admits that he tried to rape her!"

"Lucky tried to rape my daughter?"

Lulu jumped. What was Mack doing here?

"Why didn't she tell me?"

"She was afraid you were gonna do something to cost you your job, or your freedom. She didn't want me to know either; I overheard Lucky apologizing and he actually said the word rape."

Jason had the information he needed. Lucky had caught Nikolas and Elizabeth betraying him and had gotten drunk and tried to rape Maxie. The situation was, as Lulu had pointed out, very similar to Luke and Laura's, but fortunately with a very different outcome, thanks to Spinelli and Mike. But the fact that Lucky had tried to rape someone changed things. He hadn't been using drugs again, but he had gotten drunk and endangered an innocent woman. Could Jason leave Jake in Lucky's care? Elizabeth was not acting responsibly either. She was apparently going back and forth between Lucky and Nikolas. What should Jason do about Jake? He had given up his son to protect him, but the adults in his life were obviously not behaving like adults. But Mac was involved now. Maybe Jason should wait and see what happened before making any big decisions. He left the hospital, feeling conflicted, and decided to take the bike out for a ride.

"How many other people know about this?"

"Mike, me, Spinelli, now you, Nikolas and Elizabeth, my dad because Lucky told him… I don't know if Spinelli told Jason or not. He promised Maxie he wouldn't, but when Spinelli gets upset-"

"So I'm Maxie's father and I was the last to find out."

Lulu nodded. Mack whirled around and left the hospital with every intention of killing Lucky after he fired him.

But Lucky wasn't thinking about his job at the moment. He was having conflicting thoughts concerning Cameron and Jake. On one hand, he didn't think Elizabeth should be raising them. What kind of mother slept around on her fiancé with his own brother? Jake had been conceived during an affair with Jason when she was still married to Lucky. On the other hand, Lucky had almost committed rape last night after getting hammered. He had also been equally responsible for the breakup of their marriage because he'd slept with Maxie. Maybe if he hadn't, Elizabeth never would have slept with Jason. But then there would be no Jake. Could Lucky honestly consider himself a better parent than Elizabeth, especially after the way he'd behaved last night?

He answered the knock at his door, but before he could register who it was, felt a fist connect squarely with his nose, then almost immediately with his jaw.

"You tried to rape my daughter," Mack growled furiously.

"I'm so sorry, Mac; I was drunk and-"

"Shut up! I gave you another chance after you got addicted to pain killers and slept with my daughter so she'd get you pills and now you do this? Be grateful I care too much about her to go to jail for killing you! Instead, I'm gonna let the system work and the first step to doing that is to get you off my police force! You're fired, and when I get Maxie to press charges, be ready to be arrested!"

He slammed the door behind him and ran to his car to find Maxie.

"This is our fault, Nikolas," Elizabeth said tearfully.

"We should have told him the truth."

"We should have kept our hands off each other!"

"Elizabeth, now that it's out, we don't have to deny what we feel anymore."

"Now that it's out, everything is ruined! Lucky's gonna lose his job; Maxie was almost- Lucky admitted what he tried to do; he admitted it to Luke and Lulu. He could go to jail; my boys could lose their father!"

"Maxie isn't exactly the most truthful person in the world."

"Lucky was furious with us last night. If Luke could rape Laura-"

"Lucky is not Luke."

"Mike and Spinelli rescued Maxie; there were witnesses!"

"Excuse me, Nurse Webber," Epiphany said irritably. "It's time for you to stop being a drama queen and start being a nurse. You have patients waiting. You can sort out your love life on your own time."

Epiphany didn't know the specifics, only that there had been some sort of problem with Elizabeth, Nikolas and Lucky and Lulu had slapped Elizabeth because of it. She had not been on the floor to hear Lulu screaming at the top of her lungs what had really happened. She thought everything else, except for the evidence of Lulu's handprint on Elizabeth's face, was just rumor and speculation. She didn't know what was happening and didn't care; if no one became a patient here as a result of it, then it was none of her business. The patients here now were and she needed Elizabeth focused on her job.

Elizabeth threw one more furious look at Nikolas and picked up her clipboard.

Nikolas watched her go, wondering irritably why she always acted annoyed with him. She was as eager for their love making as he was. He couldn't have Emily, but he could have Elizabeth, someone he loved equally, if for different reasons. He wasn't in love with her; after losing Emily, he would never be in love with anyone again. But Elizabeth was a good friend, and now she was a friend with benefits.

Elizabeth was annoyed with Nikolas; he had been pressing this. She'd been telling him she'd wanted to marry Lucky and he just kept pushing her to tell the truth. But she was also furious with herself. Why couldn't she stay away from Nikolas? She loved Lucky, so why was she deliberately sabotaging their relationship? As she went into her first patient's room she wondered if she could ever get Lucky to forgive her, or if she'd permanently doomed their relationship.

The fact that he no longer had a job decided Lucky. He had to leave the boys with Elizabeth. He couldn't provide for them now, and if he was going to go to prison, he didn't want his boys visiting him there. He thought that it was ironic that they had tried to protect Jake from his biological father, who was a criminal, and now his adopted father had become one, all because his fiancé and his brother decided they couldn't keep their hands off each other. With a hurt, angry, miserable growl, he threw the plans for their new dream house into the fireplace and lit the kindling.

"Maxie," Mack said, "you have to testify. You have to press charges before Lucky-"

"I don't have to do anything! I'm a grown woman and I've made my decision! I'm not gonna have Lucky's lawyer drag me through the mud for something that didn't even happen!"

"He tried to rape you!"

They were in Jason's Penthouse. Mack hated to be here, but this was where he'd found Maxie. Spinelli stood beside her, saying nothing.

"Aren't you gonna say something?" Mack demanded, glaring at Spinelli.

"As I told Maximista last night, I respect an support her decision. I would love to see Lucky imprisoned for trying to hurt her, but she doesn't wish that on him, so I will make no attempt to press her."

Mack's glare intensified. It made Spinelli nervous, but he stood his ground. Maxie needed his support ant he would not back down.

"I thought you said you loved her."

"I do. That's why I'm not trying to prolong this. She wants to put it behind her; if that's what she needs to do, then I'm going to help her."

"How did you find out about last night, anyway?" Maxie asked.

"I saw Lulu slap Elizabeth and heard her scream at the top of her lungs at Nikolas and Elizabeth for sleeping together."

"What?" Maxie asked shrilly.

"That was supposedly the reason Lucky got drunk. Now come to the hospital with me. We'll do some tests and get a warrant for-"

"Mack, will you listen to me! He grabbed me and tried to undo my dress. I screamed; Mike and Spinelli came running. Lucky and I have a history, I have a bad reputation and I'm not gonna testify!"

Mack tried for another hour, but Maxie stubbornly refused. He left feeling angry and unsatisfied. At least he'd gotten Lucky off the police force. It wasn't nearly enough, but it would have to do.

After hearing that no charges would be pressed against him, Lucky decided to do another trick of Luke's; he decided to leave town. His plan was to visit Laura in Paris. He would stay for a while and decide what to do about his situation with his brother, Elizabeth and the boys when he got back. Laura always seemed to have the right answer. It was probably not a good idea to fly to Paris, or anywhere else, now that he had no job, which meant he would have no income for a while, but he didn't care. He needed to clear his head and he couldn't do that in Port Charles; that was where all his problems were. He knew instinctively that seeing Laura was the best thing for him. He would gain perspective and distance and was confident that he would be able to make the right decisions when he came home. The only thing he was absolutely sure of at the moment was that he planned never to get drunk again. He had spent his entire adult life trying to be as unlike Luke as possible. He wasn't about to repeat Luke's mistakes now. Maxie probably never would forgive him and that was her choice and her right. He didn't know if he could ever forgive Nikolas and Elizabeth. But he did know that he was a much better man than he'd been last night. It was time for him to prove it, first to himself, then to everyone else. With Laura's help, he was going to become someone he could be proud of again. He was not going to let his brother and Elizabeth steal his humanity and replace it with alcohol, women and gambling. He was fiercely determined to rise above the shadow of his father once and for all.


End file.
